System for linking and controlling terminals and user terminal used in the same

ABSTRACT

A system for linking and controlling terminals includes a user terminal that includes an image unit configured to output image data to be shared with a receiving terminal larger than the user terminal, and a signal unit configured to transmit an image signal and a control signal to the receiving terminal, the image signal having the image data outputted from the image unit, and the control signal including position information of a touch means near the user terminal. An image representing the position information of the touch means is displayed on the receiving terminal to enable a control of the user terminal by way of the receiving terminal viewed by a user of the user terminal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Applications No.10-2012-0023012, No. 10-2012-0022986, No. 10-2012-0022988, No.10-2012-0022984, No. 10-2012-0024073, No. 10-2012-0024092, No.10-2012-0032982, No. 10-2012-0033047, No. 10-2012-0043148, No.10-2012-0057996, No. 10-2012-0057998, No. 10-2012-0058000, filedrespectively with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Mar. 6,2012, Mar. 6, 2012, Mar. 6, 2012, Mar. 6, 2012, Mar. 8, 2012, Mar. 8,2012, Mar. 30, 2012, Mar. 30, 2012, Apr. 25, 2012, May 31, 2012, May 31,2012, May 31, 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND Description of the Related Art

Recently, people have greatly increased the use of electronic terminalssuch as smart phones, etc., to play games, check e-mail, or surf theweb. Although an electronic terminal has the advantage of convenientportability due to its light weight and small size, it generally has asmall screen, which does not allow the user to fully enjoy the game,etc. That is, the small size of the electronic terminal may diminish theenjoyment of content such as games, web surfing, etc., and may make itinconvenient to check e-mail, etc.

SUMMARY

Embodiments include a method and system for linking a receiving terminalwith a user terminal and controlling the user terminal while viewing thereceiving terminal. For example, the receiving terminal may be largerthan the user terminal.

An embodiment includes a user terminal used in a terminal linkage systemthat includes: an image unit configured to output image data to beshared with a receiving terminal larger than the user terminal; and asignal unit configured to transmit an image signal and a control signalto the receiving terminal, the image signal having the image dataoutputted from the image unit, and the control signal including positioninformation of a touch means near the user terminal. Here, an imagerepresenting the position information of the touch means is displayed onthe receiving terminal to enable a control of the user terminal by wayof the receiving terminal viewed by a user of the user terminal.

An embodiment includes a user terminal used in a terminal linkage systemthat includes: an image unit configured to generate image data andposition indicator data, the image data corresponding to a first imageto be shared with a receiving terminal larger than the user terminal,the position indicator data corresponding to a second image indicating aposition of a touch means when the touch means is near the userterminal; and a signal unit configured to transmit the image data andthe position indicator data generated by the image unit to the receivingterminal. Here, an image representing position information of the touchmeans is displayed on the receiving terminal to enable a control of theuser terminal by way of the receiving terminal viewed by a user of theuser terminal.

An embodiment includes a user terminal used in a terminal linkage systemthat includes: an image unit configured to output combined image data,the combined image data corresponding to a combined image of a firstimage to be shared with a receiving terminal larger than the userterminal and a second image indicating a position of a touch means whenthe touch means is near the user terminal; and a signal unit configuredto transmit a combination signal to the receiving terminal, thecombination signal having the combined image data outputted from theimage unit. Here, the second image is an image for enabling a control ofthe user terminal by way of the receiving terminal viewed by a user ofthe user terminal.

An embodiment includes a user terminal that is configured for linkedoperation with a receiving terminal and has a smaller size than thereceiving terminal. The user terminal includes a display unit and asignal unit configured to transmit to the receiving terminal imageinformation and position information of a touch means near the userterminal. Here, an image representing the position information of thetouch means is displayed on the receiving terminal, to enable a controlof the user terminal by way of the receiving terminal viewed by a userof the user terminal.

An embodiment includes a user terminal that is configured for linkedoperation with a receiving terminal and has a smaller size than thereceiving terminal. The user terminal includes a display unit and asignal unit configured to transmit combined image data to the receivingterminal. Here, the combined image data includes first image data andsecond image data, the second image data representing a position of atouch means near the user terminal, and the second image data is imagedata for enabling a control of the user terminal by way of the receivingterminal viewed by a user of the user terminal.

With the method and system for linking and controlling terminalsaccording to certain embodiments, a first image is shared between theterminals, and a second image, associated with the user's controloperations on the smaller terminal, is displayed over the first image onthe larger terminal, allowing the user to control the operations on thesmaller terminal while viewing the larger terminal. Thus, the user canbetter enjoy games, web surfing, etc., using the smaller terminal.

Also, the user terminal can display the position of the touch means, tothereby reduce errors when making selections by the touch method evenwhen using an obtuse touch means such as a finger.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be setforth in part in the description which follows, and in part will beobvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 1C, and FIG. 1D schematically illustrate a systemfor linking and controlling terminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B, and FIG. 4C illustrate a control method that can beused in the methods of linking and controlling terminals shown in FIG. 2and FIG. 3.

FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 5C, FIG. 5D, and FIG. 5E illustrate a linkageoperation when sensing levels are set according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B illustrate a method of showing a second imageaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of sensing a touch means according to anembodiment.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B illustrate a method of sensing a touch meansaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of sensing a touch means according to anembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B illustrate a system for linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B illustrate a system for linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the image unitin FIG. 16 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain embodiments of the present invention will be described below inmore detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A system for linking and controlling terminals according to anembodiment relates to linking and controlling terminals, especially bysharing an image and controlling the operation of a terminal based onthe shared image. In particular, a system for linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment can link a smaller terminal (e.g.smart phone, tablet PC, etc.), which is controlled by a touch method,with a larger terminal (e.g. TV, etc.) and enable various methods thatallow a user to control the smaller terminal while viewing the largerterminal.

For the sake of convenience, the smaller terminal controlled directly bythe user will be referred to as the user terminal or a mobile terminal,and the larger terminal that receives the position information of thetouch means from the user terminal will be referred to as the receivingterminal or a display device. Although the user terminal may preferablyhave a smaller size compared to the receiving terminal, the sizes of theterminals are not thus limited.

The terminals used in a system according to an embodiment may beprovided with a function for display images and a function forwired/wireless communication, but the communication function is notessential to the invention. Considering real-life applications, however,it may be preferable if each of the terminals is equipped with an imagedisplay function and a communication function. The terminal is notlimited to a particular type of device, as long as it is capable ofdisplaying images and exchanging signals with the another terminal, andvarious devices, for example such as a smart phone, smart TV, PC, tabletPC, laptop, touch pad, game console, cloud PC, etc., can be used as theterminal in an embodiment. However, it may be preferable if the smallerterminal is equipped with a touch function.

A system for linking and controlling terminals according to variousembodiments will be described below in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings. For convenience, the image shared by theterminals will be referred to as the first image, and the imagerepresenting the position information of the touch means will bereferred to as the second image (position indicator image).

FIGS. 1A through 1D schematically illustrate a system for linking andcontrolling terminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a system for linking and controlling terminalsaccording to this embodiment can include a user terminal 100 and areceiving terminal 102, where the terminals 100 and 102 can be computingapparatuses.

The user terminal 100 may be a display-enabled terminal that is directlycontrolled by the user, for example the user terminal may be a smartphone or the like capable of running a game or other media, for examplea racing game, etc. Also, the user terminal 100 can be a terminal havinga relatively small size and having a touch function, for example, theuser terminal 100 can be a mobile terminal.

The receiving terminal 102 may be a terminal that is not directlymanipulated by the user but is linked with the user terminal 100, andcan be a display-enabled terminal. That is, the receiving terminal 102may be any device capable of displaying an image or content, and fromthe perspective of displaying an image, can also be referred to as adisplay device. The receiving terminal 102 can be a device used for adifferent purpose from that of the user terminal 100, and for examplethe receiving terminal 102 can be a TV for showing broadcast programssuch as a drama series. In an embodiment, the receiving terminal 102 maybe a terminal having a relatively larger size, although it may notnecessarily have a touch function.

The overall size of the receiving terminal 102 can be larger than theoverall size of the user terminal 100, but considering that the userterminal 100 is to be controlled by way of the receiving terminal 102,it may be sufficient if the size of the display unit on the receivingterminal 102 is larger than the size of the display unit on the userterminal 100. In the latter case, the overall sizes of the user terminal100 and receiving terminal 102 need not be considered.

The terminals 100 and 102 can be connected directly in a wired orwireless manner or indirectly using another device as a medium. In oneembodiment, the user can control the user terminal 100 while viewing thereceiving terminal 102, and therefore, the receiving terminal 102 can bepositioned at a distance that permits viewing by the user of the userterminal 100. In this case, the user terminal 100 and the receivingterminal 102 can be connected using near-field wireless communication.

When the user terminal 100 transmits image data corresponding to thefirst image 110 displayed by the user terminal to the receiving terminal102, the receiving terminal 102 may display the first image 110corresponding to the image data, as illustrated in FIG. 1B.Consequently, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 candisplay substantially the same first image 110, i.e. share the firstimage 110.

Of course, although the first image 110 displayed on the receivingterminal 102 is substantially the same as the first image 110 displayedon the user terminal 100, the contrast or display proportion, etc., maydiffer according to the properties of the receiving terminal 102. Thereceiving terminal 102 can display the first image 110 as is, withoutparticularly modifying the transmitted image data, or the receivingterminal 102 can convert the resolution, etc., of the transmitted imagedata and then display the first image 110 corresponding to the convertedimage data.

According to an embodiment, another device connected with the receivingterminal 102 can suitably convert the image data transmitted from theuser terminal 100 and then transmit the converted image data to thereceiving terminal 102.

That is, as long as the receiving terminal 102 and the user terminal 100display substantially the same first image 110, the method of processingthe image data at the receiving terminal 102 can be modified in variousways.

The user terminal 100 can also convert the image data corresponding tothe first image 110, in consideration of the resolution, etc., of thereceiving terminal 102, such that the image data is suitable for thereceiving terminal 102, and then transmit the converted image data tothe receiving terminal 102.

When the receiving terminal 102 displays the first image 110, thereceiving terminal 102 can stop the previously running program anddisplay the first image 110, or alternatively continue running theprevious program and display the first image 110 through a separatechannel. The receiving terminal 102 can also display the first image 110together with the previously run program simultaneously. For example,the receiving terminal 102 can superimpose the first image 110 of a gameover a drama series showing on the current channel.

The first image 110 can change with time, and the user terminal 100 cantransmit image data corresponding to the changed first image 110 to thereceiving terminal 102. Consequently, the user terminal 100 and thereceiving terminal 102 can continuously share the first image 110. Forexample, the first image 110 may change continuously as the user playsthe game on the user terminal 100, and the user terminal 100 cantransmit to the receiving terminal 102 the image data for the changedfirst image 110 whenever the first image 110 is changed.

Thus, when the user manipulates the user terminal 100, a first image 110corresponding to the manipulation may be displayed on the receivingterminal 102. In particular, as the position information of a touchmeans (described later on) is indicated on the receiving terminal 102,which has a larger size than the user terminal 100, the user can controlthe user terminal 100 while viewing the receiving terminal 102.

A description will now be provided of various embodiments that allow auser to control the operation of the user terminal 100 without lookingat the screen of the user terminal 100 but by looking at the receivingterminal 102.

According to an embodiment, when a touch means, such as the user'sfinger, a touch pen, etc., is brought near to a touch-sensitive regionof the user terminal 100, such as the display unit, then a second image112 such as a pointer, a shadow image, etc., corresponding to theposition information of the touch means can be displayed on thereceiving terminal 102 together with the first image 110, as illustratedin FIGS. 1B through 1D. That is, the linkage and control system of anembodiment can link the user terminal 100 with the receiving terminal102 and indicate on the receiving terminal 102 the position of the touchmeans that is near the user terminal 100. Here, being near may refer tothe touch means being positioned with a preset distance from the userterminal 100, including the case of the touch means contacting the userterminal 100.

In an embodiment, the position information of the touch means can beshown differently on the receiving terminal 102 according to the touchpressure or the touch area of the touch means touching the user terminal100. For example, if the touch means touches the user terminal 100 witha touch pressure or a touch area smaller than or equal to a presetvalue, then the position information of the touch means may be indicatedon the receiving terminal 102, whereas if the touch pressure or toucharea is greater than or equal to a preset value, then the positioninformation of the touch means may not be displayed on the receivingterminal 102 or may be displayed on the receiving terminal 102 as animage different from the image of the position information for a touchpressure or touch area smaller than or equal to the preset value. Thatis, the position information of the touch means can be displayed on thereceiving terminal 102 if the touch means touches the user terminal 100with a light pressure.

In another embodiment, the receiving terminal 102 can display the secondimage 112 as illustrated in FIG. 1B when the touch means is near theuser terminal 100, and can display the second image 112 in another shapeas illustrated in FIG. 1D when the touch means touches the user terminal100.

In different embodiments, at least one of the position of the touchmeans near the user terminal 100, the position of the touch meanstouching the user terminal 100 with a touch pressure smaller than orequal to a preset value, and the position of the touch means touchingthe user terminal 100 with a touch area smaller than or equal to apreset value can be indicated on the receiving terminal 102.

The first image 110 can also be shared by having the receiving terminal102 transmit the image data to the user terminal 100. Of course, theuser terminal 100 can transmit the position information of the touchmeans to the receiving terminal 102. That is, as long as the first image110 is shared by the terminals 100 and 102, there is no limit to how theimage is shared, and the user terminal 100 can transmit the positioninformation of the touch means to the receiving terminal 102 while theimage is being shared.

In short, the user can perceive the user's own actions for controllingthe user terminal 100 through the second image 112 indicated on thereceiving terminal 102, without looking at the user terminal 100. Thus,the user can easily control the user terminal 100 by viewing only thereceiving terminal 102. For example, when the user is playing the gameon a smart phone, the user can enjoy the game by manipulating the smartphone while viewing a larger TV screen.

Also, when the first image 110 displayed on the user terminal 100 isaltered to another first image 110 in accordance with the user'smanipulation, the same first image 110 can be displayed on the receivingterminal 102 as well, and the second image 112 can be displayed togetherwith the altered first image 110. Thus, the user can freely move thetouch means on the user terminal 100 while viewing the receivingterminal 102, and the movement of the touch means may be reflectedimmediately at the receiving terminal 102.

Although the descriptions above refer to the user terminal 100 astransmitting the image data for the first image 110 and the positioninformation of the touch means separately to the receiving terminal 102,the user terminal 100 can just as well indicate the position of thetouch means in the first image 110 and transmit the first image 110, inwhich the position of the touch means is indicated, to the receivingterminal 102. For example, the user terminal 100 may superimpose theposition image for the touch means over the first image 110 and transmitthe image data, with the position image of the touch means superimposed,to the receiving terminal 102.

In another example, the user terminal 100 can modify a regioncorresponding to the position of the touch means in the first image 110to a position image for the touch means. That is, the user terminal 100can modify the first image 110 itself and create a new image to indicatethe position of the touch means, and can transmit the created image tothe receiving terminal 102.

According to an embodiment, the second image 112 can be displayed on theuser terminal 100 or on the receiving terminal 102 according to theuser's request. For example, if the user does not wish to show thesecond image 112 during linked operation, the user can select a menuitem or input a button manipulation, etc., on the user terminal 100 oron the receiving terminal 102 to stop showing the second image 112. Inthis case, the user terminal 100 can continuously transmit the positioninformation of the touch means to the receiving terminal 102 and thereceiving terminal 102 can store the transmitted position information,so that the receiving terminal 102 may display the second image 112corresponding to the position information upon the user's request.

According to an embodiment, the user can employ a user terminal 100equipped with a touch-sensing unit, such as a touch pad, for example,that is separate from the display unit, where the user terminal 100 cantransmit to the receiving terminal 102 the position information of atouch means near the touch-sensing unit. That is, as long as the userterminal 100 is capable of sensing the touch means, the touch means andthe region sensitive to the touch means are not limited to particularregions or means.

Although the descriptions above refer to a linkage between one userterminal 100 and one receiving terminal 102, it is possible to connectmultiple user terminals 100 to a single receiving terminal 102. Forexample, if many users are playing the same game, then the userterminals 100 can each be connected with the receiving terminal 102. Asthe user terminals 100 each transmit the position information of thecorresponding touch means to the receiving terminal 102, the receivingterminal 102 can display the first image 110 together with one or moresecond images showing the positions of the touch means. In this case,the first image 110 shared by the user terminals 100 and the receivingterminal 102 can be transmitted to the receiving terminal 102 from aparticular user terminal 100. The second images can have differentshapes, colors, or sizes for distinction.

According to an embodiment, the linkage and control system can include auser terminal, a receiving terminal, and a linkage server. The linkageserver can transmit image data corresponding to the first image 110 tothe user terminal and the receiving terminal, and the user terminal cantransmit the position information of the touch means to the receivingterminal, so that the second image 112 indicating the positioninformation of the touch means may be shown together with the firstimage 110 at the receiving terminal. Here, the linkage server canpre-store the resolution information, etc., of the user terminal and thereceiving terminal to process the image data based on the storedresolution information, etc., before transmitting it to the userterminal and the receiving terminal.

According to an embodiment, the second image indicating the positioninformation of the touch means can be shown not only on the receivingterminal 102 as second image 112 but also on the user terminal 100 assecond image 114, as illustrated in FIG. 1C. The second image 114 shownon the user terminal 100 can be substantially the same as the secondimage 112 shown on the receiving terminal 102 or can have a differentshape, size, or color.

Although it was not mentioned above, the terminals 100 and 102 can beconnected via multiple channels, such as two channels, for example. Onechannel can be used for transmitting the image data (image information)corresponding to the first image 110 shared by the terminals 100 and102, while another channel can be used for transmitting a control signalthat includes the position information of the touch means. The channelscan both be wireless channels or wired channels, or alternatively onecan be a wireless channel and the other can be a wired channel. Also,the control signal may include various control signals related tooperations between the terminals 100 and 102, such as a control signalincluding the position information of the touch means, a control signalrelated to linked operation, etc. It should be understood that theterminals 100 and 102 can also exchange the image data and the positioninformation of the touch means through one channel.

Recently, terminals such as smart phones, TVs, etc., use wiredcommunication standards such as High-Definition Multimedia Interface(HDMI), Mobile High-definition Link (MHL), Displayport, etc., andwireless communication standards such as Digital Living Network Alliance(DNLA) and WiFi, etc., and are each provided not only with data channelsfor transmitting data but also with a separate channel for exchangingcontrol signals. For example, HDMI uses Consumer Electronic Control(CEC), Display Data Channel (DDC), Utility, and SCL/SDA as controlchannels; MHL uses CBUS as a control channel; and Displayport uses anauxiliary channel as a control channel. Thus, it may not be necessary toestablish separate channels for linking the terminals 100 and 102, andthe channels already available on the terminals 100 and 102 can beutilized for a channel by which to transmit the position information ofthe touch means according to an embodiment.

The terminals 100 and 102 can exchange data in various forms accordingto the communication method used for the linkage system.

A description will now be provided of a method for specifying the touchposition of the touch means at the receiving terminal 102.

In an embodiment, the position information of the touch means can be theposition information on the first image 110 displayed on the userterminal 100. Consequently, the position of the touch means on the firstimage 110 of the user terminal 100 can be reflected in the first image110 of the receiving terminal 102 as the second image 112.

In an embodiment, the position information of the touch means can becoordinate information that is in accordance with the resolution orscreen size of the display unit of the user terminal 100. That is, theposition information of the touch means can be the coordinateinformation of the touch means with respect to the display unit of theuser terminal 100, rather than the coordinate information of the touchmeans on the image displayed on the screen.

For example, considering a case in which a map is displayed on the userterminal 100 and a touch means is brought near a particular point on themap, the position information of the touch means can be coordinates withrespect to the screen of the user terminal 100, rather than coordinateswith respect to the map. When the user terminal 100 transmits theposition information of the touch means to the receiving terminal 102,the receiving terminal 102 can compare its resolution or screen sizewith the resolution or screen size of the user terminal 100 and show thesecond image 112 at the coordinates corresponding to the positioninformation of the touch means in accordance with the comparison result.Here, the comparison result can be determined at the time of linking andpre-stored in the receiving terminal 102. Thus, the receiving terminal102 can determine the coordinates based on the pre-stored comparisonresults when the position information is transmitted and display thesecond image 112 at the position corresponding to the coordinatesdetermined.

In an embodiment, the receiving terminal 102 can display the first image110 corresponding to the image data after setting the screen to the sameresolution as the user terminal 100 when the receiving terminal 102 isto show the image data transmitted from the user terminal 100 so thatthe user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 may share the firstimage 110. Thus, the receiving terminal 102 can accurately represent theposition of the touch means by displaying the second image 112 with theposition information, e.g. the coordinate information, of the touchmeans unmodified.

That is, embodiments include various methods for specifying the positionof the touch means at the receiving terminal 102. The user terminal 100can transmit the position information of the touch means to thereceiving terminal 102, or generate second image data corresponding tothe second image 112 representing the position information and send thissecond image data to the receiving terminal 102, or transmit the firstimage 110 to the receiving terminal 102 with the region corresponding tothe position of the touch means modified.

A method for linking and controlling terminals according to variousembodiments will be described below in more detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustratinga method of linking and controlling terminals according to anembodiment. FIGS. 4A through 4C illustrate a control method that can beused in the methods of linking and controlling terminals illustrated inFIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIGS. 5A through 5E illustrate a linkage operationwhen sensing levels are set in accordance with an embodiment. FIG. 6Aand FIG. 6B illustrate a method of showing a second image 112 accordingto an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, an embodiment includes a linkage and control methodfor a setup in which a user terminal 100 transmits image data to areceiving terminal 102.

Referring to FIG. 2, the user terminal 100 may request the receivingterminal 102 for a linkage of images (S200). To be more specific, if theuser terminal 100 or the receiving terminal 102 requests linkage to thecounterpart terminal after the user terminal 100 and the receivingterminal 102 connected by the user for linked operation, or if the userterminal 100 requests linkage to the receiving terminal 102 and thelinkage is accepted, a channel can be formed between the terminals 100and 102 capable of transmitting the position information of a touchmeans. Here, the linkage of the terminals 100 and 102 can be performedaccording to a user's request or can be performed automatically by aterminal 100 or 102.

According to an embodiment, the user terminal 100 and the receivingterminal 102 can be connected by two channels, i.e. a data channel and acontrol channel, as illustrated in FIG. 4A, and the control signal forrequesting or accepting linkage can be exchanged through the controlchannel.

According to an embodiment, the data can be exchanged through onechannel. For example, the transmission periods for the channel caninclude data periods E1 and E2 for transmitting image data, and acontrol period C between the data periods E1 and E2 for transmitting theposition information, as illustrated in FIG. 4C. In particular, theposition information can be transmitted by utilizing the blank periods Cin-between the periods for transmitting image data. For example, theuser terminal 100 can transmit the image data to the receiving terminal102 through one channel, and can transmit the position information tothe receiving terminal 102 during the blank periods C existingin-between the data periods E1 and E2 for transmitting image data.

Next, the user terminal 100 may transmit image data corresponding to afirst image 110 to the receiving terminal 102, and the receivingterminal 102 may display the first image 110 corresponding to thetransmitted image data (S202). That is, the user terminal 100 and thereceiving terminal 102 may share the first image 110.

Then, as the user brings the touch means near to the user terminal 100,the user terminal 100 may sense the touch means (S204). Morespecifically, the user terminal 100 may sense the touch means if thetouch means enters a region that permits sensing. For example, the userterminal 100 can use a capacitance-based touch panel, and when the userbrings a touch means such as a finger near the user terminal 100, cansense the position of the finger by sensing the change in capacitancecaused by the finger.

In performing such sensing, the user terminal 100 can set multiplelevels, e.g. two levels, for the sensing levels, as illustrated in FIG.4B. If it is not performing a terminal-linked process, i.e. if the useris using only the user terminal 100, the sensing level for the userterminal 100 can be set to a higher level (L2) such that the touchposition is sensed only when there is a touch by the user.

Conversely, if the user is performing a terminal-linked process, i.e. ifthe receiving terminal 102 is also being used, the user terminal 100 mayset the sensing level to a lower level (L1). Thus, the user terminal 100can sense the touch means even when the touch means is near and nottouching. In other embodiments, the user terminal 100 can employ variousmethods other than the capacitance-based method, such as methods basedon electromagnetic induction, methods using a resistive overlay, opticalmethods, ultrasonic methods, etc., and the settings conditions can varyaccording to the method employed.

Next, the user terminal 100 may transmit the position information of thetouch means obtained according to the sensing result to the receivingterminal 102, and the receiving terminal 102 may display a second image112 representing the position information, for example a positionindicator image (second image 112) such as that illustrated in FIG. 1B,together with the first image 110 (S206).

Here, the position information of the touch means can be information inan image form or information in a coordinate form. That is, the userterminal 100 can generate the position information for the second image112 directly in the form of image data and transmit it to the receivingterminal 102, or transmit only the position information of the touchmeans to the receiving terminal 102 in the form of a control signal.Alternatively, the user terminal 100 can generate a position image(second image 112) for the touch means and transmit image data with thefirst image 110 and the second image 112 included to the receivingterminal 102, so that the second image 112 can be displayed on thereceiving terminal 102 concurrently with the sharing of the first image110.

When the touch means is moved near to the user terminal 100, the secondimage 112 may reflect the movement of the touch means, so that thesecond image 112 may be displayed on receiving terminal 102 while movingcontinuously (S208).

When the user touches an icon in the first image 110 on the userterminal 100, only the first image 110 is changed and the position ofthe touch means remains the same, and thus at the receiving terminal102, the display may have only the first image 110 changed, with thesecond image 112 maintaining its previous form. Alternatively, thesecond image 112 may not be displayed.

In short, a method for linking and controlling terminals according to anembodiment can involve sensing a touch means when the touch means isbrought near the user terminal 100 while a first image 110 is beingshared, and displaying a second image 112 indicating the position of thetouch means together with the first image 110 of the receiving terminal102.

The first image 110 and the second image 112 displayed on the receivingterminal 102 can be superimposed as separate images, or the first image110 and the second image 112 can be combined to display the generatedcombined image on the receiving terminal 102.

Although the descriptions above refer to the second image 112 beingshown over the first image 110, the method for showing the second image112 can vary as long as it is displayed together with the first image110. For example, a portion corresponding to the position of the touchmeans in the first image 110 can be represented in a darker shade, andthe darkened portion can be the second image 112. That is, a region inthe first image 110 corresponding to the position of the touch means canbe modified to show the position of the touch means on the receivingterminal 102.

In contrast to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 depicts a method where the position of thetouch means is displayed on the receiving terminal 102 in accordancewith the touch pressure or touch area of the touch means touching theuser terminal 100.

After the linkage request (S300) and the sharing of the first image 110(S302), the user terminal 100 may sense the touch pressure or touch areaof the touch means (S304). The user terminal 100 may transmit theposition information of the touch means obtained according to thesensing result to the receiving terminal 102, and the receiving terminal102 may display a second image 112 representing the positioninformation, such as a position indicator image (second image 112)indicating the position of the touch means as illustrated in FIG. 1B,for example, together with the first image 110 (S306).

For example, the position of the touch means can be displayed on thereceiving terminal 102 when the touch pressure of the touch means issmaller than or equal to a preset value or when the touch area issmaller than or equal to a preset value. That is, when the touch meanstouches the user terminal 100 lightly, the second image 112 can bedisplayed on the receiving terminal 102. When the touch means moveswhile touching the user terminal 100 lightly, the second image 112 mayreflect the movement of the touch means, and the second image 112 may bedisplayed on the receiving terminal 102 as also moving continuously(S308).

According to an embodiment, when the touch means touches the userterminal 100 lightly, the user terminal 100 may not recognize the touchof the touch means as a touch input. That is, the user terminal 100,according to an embodiment, may recognize a touch input according to thetouch pressure or touch area of the touch means. When the touch meanstouches the user terminal 100 with a strong pressure, i.e. if the touchpressure exceeds a preset pressure or the touch area exceeds a presettouch area, the user terminal 100 may recognize the touch of the touchmeans as a touch input. Thus, when the touch means is positioned over anicon while touching the user terminal 100 lightly, the programcorresponding to the icon may not be executed, but when the touch meanstouches the icon strongly, the program corresponding to the icon can beexecuted.

As described above, the method shown in FIG. 2 and the method shown inFIG. 3 can be applied together. That is, the second image 112 can bedisplayed on the receiving terminal 102 when the touch means ispositioned within a preset distance from the user terminal 100 and whenthe touch means lightly touches the user terminal 100.

Referring to FIGS. 5A to 5E, a more detailed description of setting thesensing levels for the embodiments illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 isprovided below.

The user terminal 100 can be set to have multiple sensing levels. Forexample, a first level, a second level, and a third level can be set atthe user terminal 100 The first level may correspond to sensing anearness of a touch means 504 which is not contacting the user terminal100. The second level may correspond to sensing the touch means 504touching with a level equal to or smaller than a preset level (pressurelevel or area level). The third level may correspond to sensing thetouch means 504 touching with a level equal to or greater than a presetlevel (pressure level or area level).

A description is provided below of the operations of the user terminal100 and the receiving terminal 102 when multiple levels are set asabove.

At the receiving terminal 102, the first image 110 can be displayed asillustrated in FIG. 5A. Of course, the same first image 110 can also bedisplayed at the user terminal 100. The first image 110 can includeevent-executing objects 500 such as icons, application programs, links,etc., and when an event-executing object 500 is selected, the game canbe executed as illustrated in FIG. 5B. In the descriptions that follow,it will be assumed that the touch position of the touch means 504corresponds to a particular point on the event-executing object 500.

First, when the touch means 504 is brought near but not contacting thedisplay unit 506 of the user terminal 100, as illustrated in FIG. 5C,the second image 112 indicating the position of the touch means 504 canbe displayed on the receiving terminal 102 as illustrated in FIG. 5A.

Next, when the touch means 504 touches the display unit 506 with apressure level smaller than or equal to a preset pressure level asillustrated in FIG. 5D, the second image 112 indicating the position ofthe touch means 504 can remain as is, without executing theevent-executing object 500.

When the touch means 504 touches the display unit 506 with a pressurelevel greater than or equal to the preset pressure level as illustratedin FIG. 5E, the user terminal can recognize this as a selection of theevent-executing object 500 and execute the game. The distal end 510 ofthe touch means 504 can be structured such that a portion can beinserted inside, and when the user makes a touch with the touch means504 with a level greater than or equal to a preset level, the displayunit 506 may be pressed with the distal end 510 inserted inside, asillustrated in FIG. 5E.

In short, a linkage and control system based on this embodiment canperform different operations according to sensing levels.

According to an embodiment, the levels can also be set such that thesecond image 112 indicating the position of the touch means 504 is shownon the receiving terminal 102 when the touch means 504 is drawn near theuser terminal 100, and the event-executing object 500 is executed whenthe touch means 504 touches the display unit 506.

According to an embodiment, a method of linking and controllingterminals can further include changing the second image 112 to a thirdimage when a particular event occurs, or providing information relatedto the occurrence of a particular event. Changing the image andproviding the event occurrence information can be performed together orselectively. The particular event can involve a preset position of thetouch means or a touch input for selecting an icon. The preset positionof the touch means can correspond to a position of an item such as anicon, a folder, etc., that can be selected and executed by the user, oran Internet address input window, the bottom of the screen, a searchwindow, and the like.

For example, when the touch means is positioned within a preset distancefrom the user terminal 100 or lightly touching the user terminal 100 andis not positioned over an event-executing object displayed on the userterminal 100, the second image 112 may become a second image 112 a,which can be, for example, a circular image such as that illustrated inFIG. 6A. When the touch means is positioned over an event-executingobject displayed on the user terminal 100, i.e., when a particular eventoccurs, the second image 112 can change to a second image 112 b, whichcan be, for example, shaped as a finger such as that illustrated in FIG.6B. Thus, the user can see from the finger image 112 b that theevent-executing object is an object that can be selected and executed.In addition, the user terminal 100 can provide occurrence informationfor a particular event. The event occurrence information can beinformation in the form of vibration, sound, or light. Such eventoccurrence information will be described in more detail below.

In another example, after the second image 112 is shown, when the touchmeans touches an icon on the user terminal 100 and the touch of thetouch means is recognized as a touch input, the second image 112 canchange to a third image to be displayed on the receiving terminal 102,and event occurrence information can be provided.

In still another example, the second image 112 shown when the touchmeans is brought near the user terminal 100 can be different from thesecond image 112 shown when the touch means touches the user terminal100.

With reference to the accompanying drawings, a description will now beprovided of various methods for sensing the touch means.

A basic method for sensing the touch means is to utilize acapacitance-based touch panel and use a touch means such as a finger,etc., that conducts electricity as the display unit of the user terminal100. In this case, a sensing unit of the user terminal 100 may sense theposition of the touch means through changes in capacitance that occurswhen the touch means is near the user terminal 100 or is in contact withthe user terminal 100.

There are also other methods for sensing the touch means, some of whichare described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of sensing a touch means according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7, a touch pen or stylus 700 can be used as the touchmeans intended for touching the user terminal 100. A capacitance-basedtouch panel can be used for the user terminal 100.

The touch pen 700 may be composed of a body 710 and a touch part 712.The body 710 may be made of an electrically non-conducting material,while the touch part 712 may be a conductor. Thus, because of the touchpart 712, a change in capacitance may occur when the touch pen 700 isbrought near the user terminal 100 or is touching the user terminal 100,and the user terminal 100 can sense the touch pen 700 by way of suchchange in capacitance. That is, unlike a conventional touch pen, whichcannot be used with capacitive type methods, the touch pen 700 accordingto an embodiment can also be used with capacitive type methods. Ofcourse, it is possible to fabricate the whole touch pen 700 as aconductor, but due to cost considerations, it may be advantageous tofabricate only the touch part 712 as a conductor, since it is the partwhere a touch actually occurs.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B illustrate a method of sensing a touch meansaccording to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 8A, a receiver 800 can be installed on a portion ofthe user terminal 100, and a touch pen 802 can be used.

The receiver 800 can include an infrared sensor and two ultrasonicsensors to sense the movement of the touch pen 802 by receiving theinfrared rays and ultrasonic waves emitted from the touch part (pen tip)of the touch pen 802, and can transmit the position information of thetouch pen 802 obtained in accordance with the sensing results to thereceiving terminal 102. The receiving terminal 102 may display a secondimage 112 that represents the transmitted position information.Consequently, the second image 112 may be displayed together with thefirst image 110. Here, the position information can be transmitted tothe receiving terminal 102 by the receiver 800 or by the user terminal100.

Looking at an example method by which the receiver 800 may detect theposition of the touch pen 802, the three sensors may measure thetransmission times of the infrared rays and the transmission times ofthe ultrasonic waves, respectively, convert the transmission times intodistance, and apply a method such as triangulation, etc., on theconverted distances, to detect the position of the touch pen 802. Thus,the position of the touch pen 802 can be sensed even if the touch pen802 is merely near the user terminal 100 without directly touching theuser terminal 100, and the contact and movement of the touch pen 802 canbe accurately sensed. Of course, signals other than infrared rays andultrasonic waves can also be used.

The second image 112 that indicates the position of the touch pen 802can be shown on the receiving terminal 102 only without being shown onthe user terminal 100, or can be shown on both the user terminal 100 andthe receiving terminal 102.

According to an embodiment, the receiver 800 can perform not only thefunction of sensing the position of the touch pen 802 but also thefunction of transmitting image data and the position information to thereceiving terminal 102. To be more specific, the receiver 800 caninclude a touch control unit 810, an image signal unit 812, a controlsignal unit 814, and a transceiver unit 816, as illustrated in FIG. 8B.

The touch control unit 810 may serve to sense the position of the touchpen 802 by using the received infrared rays and ultrasonic waves andprovide the user terminal 100 with the information on the sensedposition. The user terminal 100 may show the position of the touch pen802 or perform a related operation in accordance to the information thusprovided.

The image signal unit 812 can be provided with image data from the userterminal 100 and transmit the image data thus provided to the receivingterminal 102 via the transceiver unit 816.

The control signal unit 814 may serve to transmit a control signal,which includes the position information of the touch pen 802 obtainedabove by sensing, to the receiving terminal 102. That is, since thereceiver 800 transmits the image data transmitted from the user terminal100 and the position information of the touch pen 802 to the receivingterminal 102, the user terminal 100 does not have to include acommunication function. Therefore, even with a terminal that does nothave a communication function or a terminal that has a communicationfunction but is unable to use the related communication facilities, itis possible to recognize the position and action of the touch pen 802using the receiver 800 as well as to employ a linkage method accordingto an embodiment for sharing images, displaying the second image 112,etc.

In an embodiment, the receiver can be incorporated into the userterminal 100 to be implemented as a single body.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method of sensing a touch means according to anembodiment.

Referring to FIG. 9, the user terminal 100 can include a touch panel 900and an electromagnetic field generator unit 902.

The electromagnetic field generator unit 902 can be connected to a rearsurface of the touch panel 900 and can be made of a thin metal film togenerate an electromagnetic field when electricity is applied.

The touch pen or stylus 904 may include a body 910 and a touch part 912,where the touch part 912 can preferably be made of a small metal coil.Consequently, when the touch pen 904 is brought near the touch panel900, electromagnetic induction may occur in the touch part 912, and as aresult, an alteration may occur in the electromagnetic field created bythe electromagnetic field generator unit 902. Thus, the user terminal100 may recognize the position of the touch pen 904 by sensing thisalteration in the electromagnetic field. In particular, since thealteration of the electromagnetic field would differ according to thenearness and touch strength of the touch pen 904, this method of sensingthe touch means can minutely sense the degree of nearness and the touchpressure of the touch pen 904 with respect to the touch panel 900. Thus,in cases where the size of the second image 112 shown on the receivingterminal 102 is represented as a line, the line thickness, etc., can beshown differently according to the position or pressure of the touch pen904. Of course, the shape, size, or color of the second image 112 canalso vary according to the touch strength.

Summarizing the descriptions referring to FIGS. 7 to 9, the userterminal 100 can adopt various methods to sense the touch pen andreflect the sensing results at the receiving terminal 102.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal102 may begin linked operation (S1000).

Next, the user terminal 100 may transmit the image data corresponding tothe currently displayed first image 110 to the receiving terminal 102,and the receiving terminal 102 may display a first image 110corresponding to the image data (S1002). That is, the user terminal 100and the receiving terminal 102 may share the first image 110.

Then, the user terminal 100 may sense a touch means, such as a finger, atouch pen, etc., through any of a variety of methods (S1004). The userterminal 100 can sense the position of a touch means that is near theuser terminal 100 or lightly touching the user terminal 100.

Next, the user terminal 100 may generate a combined image, including thecurrently displayed first image 110 together with the second image 112corresponding to the sensed position of the touch means, and maytransmit combined image data (combination information) corresponding tothe combined image to the receiving terminal 102, and the receivingterminal 102 may display the combined image corresponding to thecombined image data (S1006). Consequently, the second image 112 togetherwith the first image 110 may be displayed on the receiving terminal 102.In this case, the user terminal 100 can display the first image 110 onlyor display the first image 110 and the second image 112 together.

When the user makes a touch with the touch means or moves the touchmeans while touching, the user terminal 100 may transmit the positioninformation of the touch means to the receiving terminal 102, and thereceiving terminal 102 may display the second image 112, which indicatesthe position of the touch means in accordance with the positioninformation, together with the corresponding first image 110 (S1008).That is, the movement of the touch means may be reflected in the screenof the receiving terminal 102. The first image 110 on the receivingterminal 102 may be the same image as the previous image or may be adifferent image from the previous image.

In short, in contrast to an embodiment in which the receiving terminal102 generates the second image 112 and displays it together with thefirst image 110, this embodiment has the user terminal 100 generate acombined image that includes the first image 110 and the second image112 and transmit the combined image thus generated to the receivingterminal 102, so that the receiving terminal 102 may consequentlydisplay the second image 112 together with the first image 110.

Although the descriptions above use the expression “combined image,” itis possible to modify the first image 110 itself such that the firstimage 110 indicates the position of the touch means. That is, themodified first image can be substantially the same as the combinedimage.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 11, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal102 may begin linked operation (S1100).

Next, the user or the user terminal 100 may set multiple sensing levelsfor sensing the touch means (S1102). More specifically, a first levelmay be set that enables sensing the touch means when the touch means isnear the user terminal 100, and a second level may be set that enablessensing the touch means when the touch means makes a touch. Of course,the levels for sensing the touch means can be set more minutely. Forexample, a first level, a second level, and a third level can be set;where a first level for when the touch means is nearby, a second levelfor when the touch means makes a touch with a pressure smaller than orequal to a preset pressure value, and a third level for when the touchmeans makes a touch with a pressure greater than or equal to a presetpressure value. Such settings may be established at the beginning of thelinked operation or may be established beforehand in the user terminal100 prior to linked operation.

Then, the user terminal 100 may sense the touch means, and the receivingterminal 102 may display the second image 112, which represents thesensed position of the touch means (S1104).

Next, it may be determined whether or not there was a request by theuser to stop linked operation (S1106). The stopping of linked operationcan be requested by the user by a method such as a menu selection, etc.,or can also be requested by turning off the connection between the userterminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102. The user, controlling theuser terminal 100 while viewing the receiving terminal 102, may wish touse the user terminal 100 only or may wish to view the receivingterminal 102 only, in which case the user can request for a stopping oflinked operation while the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal102 are in a connected state.

If there is no request from the user to stop the linked operation, thenstep S1104 may be performed again.

Conversely, if there is a request from the user to stop linkedoperation, then the user terminal 100 may initialize the multiple levelssuch that only one level is available or change the levels to sensinglevels which only sense touches (S1108). That is, the user terminal 100may change the levels such that the touch means is not sensed when thetouch means does not make a touch, and that the touch means is sensedonly when the touch means makes a touch.

In short, a method of linking and controlling terminals according to anembodiment can allow a user to arbitrarily request linked operation andrequest a stopping of the linked operation and to freely set and changesensing levels.

According to an embodiment, a preliminary sensing level can be set atthe beginning of linked operation between the user terminal 100 andreceiving terminal 102, and the sensing levels can be set differentlyduring linked operation. For example, the user can set different sensinglevels during linked operation according to the nearness distance(proximity) and touch strength of the touch means and can change thesensing level settings to sense the touch means only when it is incontact.

That is, regarding setting the sensing levels, a user terminal 100according to an embodiment can set the sensing levels differentlyaccording to the user's request in cases where the user terminal 100 andthe receiving terminal 102 are in linked operation or are not in linkedoperation.

In an embodiment, the user terminal 100 can distinguish the touch modesto a near touch mode, which recognizes both the position of the touchmeans near the display unit and the position of the touch means touchingthe display unit; and a direct touch mode, which recognizes only thetouch of the touch means touching the display unit; and the sensinglevels can be set differently according to the mode. This will bedescribed later in further detail.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 12, a user terminal 100 and a receiving terminal 102may be connected to begin linked operation (S1200).

Next, the receiving terminal 102 may transmit image data correspondingto a first image 110 currently being displayed or about to be displayedto the user terminal 100, and the user terminal 100 may display thefirst image 110 corresponding to the transmitted image data (S1202).That is, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 may sharethe first image 110.

Then, when a user brings near a touch means such as a finger or a touchpen, etc., then the user terminal 100 may sense the touch means (S1204).The user terminal 100 can sense the touch means using various methodssuch as capacitive sensing, electromagnetic sensing, etc.

Next, the user terminal 100 may transmit the position information of thetouch means obtained according to the sensing result to the receivingterminal 102, and the receiving terminal 102 may display a second image112, which represents the position information of the touch meanstransmitted thus, together with the first image 110 (S1206). Accordingto an embodiment, the user terminal 100 can also transmit image data (orcombined image data) that includes data corresponding to the first image110 and data corresponding to the second image 112 to the receivingterminal 102. However, since this embodiment basically involves thereceiving terminal 102 transmitting the image data corresponding to thefirst image 110 to the user terminal 100, the former method of the userterminal 100 transmitting only the position information to the receivingterminal 102 may be more efficient.

Then, when the user makes a touch with or moves the touch means, theuser terminal 100 may transmit the position information of the touchmeans to the receiving terminal 102 to display the second image 112 or athird image on the receiving terminal 102 (S1208).

FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B illustrate a system for linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 13A, in a system for linking and controlling terminalsaccording to an embodiment, a receiver 1300 can be installed or builtinto the receiving terminal 102 rather than the user terminal 100.

When a touch pen 1302 serving as the touch means for the user terminal100 emits ultrasonic waves and infrared rays to the receiver 1300installed in the receiving terminal 102, the receiver 1300 may receivethe ultrasonic waves and infrared rays to sense the position of thetouch pen 1302.

The receiver 1300 may transmit information regarding the position of thetouch pen 1302 thus sensed to the receiving terminal 102, and thereceiving terminal 102 may display the second image 112 representing theposition of the touch pen 1302 together with the first image 110. Ofcourse, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 may displaythe second image 112 while sharing the first image 110.

According to an embodiment, the receiver 1300 can serve not only tosense the position of the touch pen 1302 but also to performcommunication. To be more specific, the receiver 1300 can include atouch means sensing unit 1310, an image signal unit 1312, a controlsignal unit 1314, and a transceiver unit 1316.

The touch means sensing unit 1310 may serve to sense the position of thetouch pen 1302.

The image signal unit 1312 may receive the image data transmitted fromthe user terminal 100 by way of the transceiver unit 1316, and maytransmit the received image data by way of the transceiver unit 1316 tothe receiving terminal 102, to display the first image 110. Of course,the image signal unit 1312 may also receive the image data from thereceiving terminal 102 and transmit the received image data to the userterminal 100.

The control signal unit 1314 can receive a control signal transmittedfrom the user terminal 100 related to the linked operation, etc., andcan transmit the received control signal to the receiving terminal 102.Of course, the position information of the touch pen 1302 need not betransmitted from the user terminal 100 to the receiver 1300. As such,the receiver 1300 may provide not only the function of sensing theposition of the touch pen 1302 but also a communication function. Thus,a linking and control method according to an embodiment can be used evenwhen the receiving terminal 102 does not have a communication function.

According to an embodiment, the receiver 1300 can receive the image datacorresponding to the first image 110 and the position information of thetouch means 1302 from the user terminal 100, and the receiver 1300 canforward the received image data and position information to thereceiving terminal 102. Alternatively, the receiver 1300 can convert thereceived image data and position information into a foam suited to thereceiving terminal 102 and transmit the converted image data andposition information to the receiving terminal 102.

Of course, the user terminal 100 can also transmit combined data, orimage data corresponding to the first image 110 in which the position ofthe touch means is indicated, to the receiver 1300.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 14, a receiver 1300 may be installed in the receivingterminal 102 (S1400). According to an embodiment, the receiver 1300 canbe built into the receiving terminal 102.

Next, the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 may beginlinked operation (S1402).

Then, the user terminal 100 may transmit image data corresponding to thefirst image 110 to the receiving terminal 102 to share the first image110, or the receiving terminal 102 may transmit the image data to theuser terminal 100 to share the first image 110 (S1404).

Next, when a touch means, e.g. a touch pen 1302, is brought near theuser terminal 100, the receiver 1300 may sense the position of the touchpen 1302 by way of infrared rays and ultrasonic waves emitted from thetouch pen 1302 and transmit it to the receiving terminal 102, and thereceiving terminal 102 may display the second image 112, whichrepresents the position thus obtained by sensing, together with thefirst image 110 (S1406).

Then, when the user touches the user terminal 100 with the touch pen1302 or moves the touch pen 1302 after touching the user terminal 100,the receiver 1300 may sense such movement of the touch pen 1302 andtransmit it to the receiving terminal 102, and the receiving terminal102 may display the second image 112 or a third image representing suchmovement together with the first image 110 (S1408).

FIG. 15A and FIG. 15B illustrate a system for linking and controllingterminals according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 15A, a system for linking and controlling terminalsbased on this embodiment can include a user terminal 100, a receivingterminal 102, and a dongle 1500.

The dongle 1500 may not only supplement the communication of the userterminal 100 but also to sense the position of a touch pen 1502 servingas the touch means. More specifically, the dongle 1500 can include acommunication unit 1510 and a touch means sensing unit 1512.

The communication unit 1510 may serve as a communication means for theuser terminal 100 and can provide a particular communication function,such as Wibro communication, for example, and can also convert aparticular communication function into another communication function,such as by converting Wibro to Wi-Fi, for example, to be utilized by theuser terminal 100.

The touch means sensing unit 1512 may sense the position of the touchpen 1502 and transmit information on the sensed position to thereceiving terminal 102, in a similar fashion as the receiver.

In short, the user terminal 100 may realize its communication functionby using the dongle 1500, where the dongle 1500 can also be used tosense the position of the touch pen 1502.

According to an embodiment, the dongle 1500 can be installed inside oroutside the receiving terminal 102, can receive image data and positioninformation transmitted from the user terminal 100, and can also providethe received image data and position information to the receivingterminal 102.

Since the receiver and the dongle can be installed outside a terminal100 or 102, they can be collectively referred to as external devices.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 16, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 1600, a linkage unit 1602, an image unit 1604, asensing unit 1606, a settings unit 1608, a display unit 1610, a signalunit 1612, a transceiver unit 1614, and a storage unit 1616.

The linkage unit 1602 may manage all functions related to linkage withthe receiving terminal 102.

The image unit 1604 can generate a first image 110 that is to be sharedwith the receiving terminal 102 or generate a combined image thatincludes the second image 112 and the first image 110. The image unit1604 may display the first image 110 by way of the display unit 1610.

The sensing unit 1606 may serve to sense a touch means, such as a fingeror a touch pen, etc. More specifically, the sensing unit 1606 may sensethe position of the touch means, distinguishing when the touch means isnear the display unit 1610 and when it is touching the display unit1610. The method of sensing is not limited to a particular method andcan be a capacitance-based method, an electromagnetic induction-basedmethod, etc. The information on the position of the touch means assensed by the sensing unit 1606 can also be generated by a positioninformation generating unit (not shown).

The settings unit 1608 may manage the settings of various functions,such as linkage function settings, sensing level settings, etc.

The display unit 1610 can be a touch panel, and can be implemented invarious ways such as by using capacitance-based types, resistive overlaytypes, electromagnetic induction types, etc.

The signal unit 1612 may generate an image signal that includes imagedata corresponding to the first image 110 and a control signal thatincludes information on the position of the touch means. Also, thesignal unit 1612 can transmit the image signal to the receiving terminal102 through a data channel and transmit the control signal to thereceiving terminal 102 through a control channel.

The transceiver unit 1614 may serve as a communication passageway to thereceiving terminal 102.

The storage unit 1616 may store various data, such as the first image110, image signals, position information, control signals, applicationprograms, etc.

The control unit 1600 may control the overall operations of thecomponents of the user terminal 100.

FIG. 17 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of the image unitin FIG. 16 according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 17, the image unit 1604 of this embodiment can includea first image generating unit 1700, a second image generating unit(position information generating unit) 1702, and an image combining unit1704.

The first image generating unit 1700 may generate the first image 110that is to be shared, and the second image generating unit 1702 maygenerate a second image 112, such as a shadow image, etc., correspondingto the position of the touch means.

The image combining unit 1704 may generate a combined image thatincludes the first image 110 as well as the second image 112 generatedabove. In an embodiment, the user terminal 100 can transmit image datacorresponding to the first image 110 to the receiving terminal 102 andtransmit position indicator data corresponding to the second image 112representing the position information of the touch means to thereceiving terminal 102.

FIG. 18 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 18 illustrates the structure of a userterminal 100 in a system for linking and controlling terminals, where areceiver is installed in the user terminal 100.

Referring to FIG. 18, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 1800, a linkage unit 1802, an image unit 1804, atouch means unit 1806, a settings unit 1808, a display unit 1810, asignal unit 1812, a transceiver unit 1814, and a storage unit 1816.

In the following, descriptions of components that perform the samefunctions those described with respect to the earlier drawing figuresare omitted.

The image unit 1804 may generate a first image 110, which will be sharedwith the receiving terminal 102, or generate a combined image of thefirst image 110 and the second image 112.

The touch means unit 1806 may receive and manage information on theposition of the touch means received from the receiver. That is, thereceiver may sense the position of the touch means, while the touchmeans unit 1806 may analyze the signals transmitted from the receiver todetect the position of the touch means.

The signal unit 1812 may create an image signal that includes image datacorresponding to the first image 110, a control signal that includesinformation on the position of the touch means, or a combination signalthat includes data corresponding to a combined image. Also, the signalunit 1812 can transmit the image signal or the combination signal to thereceiving terminal 102 through a data channel and transmit the controlsignal to the receiving terminal 102 through a control channel.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 19 illustrates the structure of a userterminal 100 in a system for linking and controlling terminals, where areceiver is built into the user terminal 100.

Referring to FIG. 19, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 1900, a linkage unit 1902, a transceiver unit1904, an image unit 1906, a receiver unit 1908, a settings unit 1910, adisplay unit 1912, a signal unit 1914, and a storage unit 1916.

In the following, descriptions of components that perform the samefunctions as those described with respect to the earlier drawing figuresare omitted.

The image unit 1906 may generate a first image 110, which will be sharedwith the receiving terminal 102, or generate a combined image of thefirst image 110 and the second image 112.

The receiver unit 1908 may receive infrared rays and ultrasonic wavestransmitted from the touch means when the touch means is brought near toor in contact with the user terminal 100, and may analyze the infraredrays and ultrasonic waves thus received to detect the position of thetouch means.

The signal unit 1914 may create an image signal that includes image datacorresponding to the first image 110, a control signal that includesinformation on the position of the touch means, or a combination signalthat includes data corresponding to a combined image. Also, the signalunit 1914 can transmit the image signal or the combination signal to thereceiving terminal 102 through a data channel and transmit the controlsignal to the receiving terminal 102 through a control channel.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 20 illustrates the structure of a userterminal 100 that uses a method based on electromagnetic induction.

Referring to FIG. 20, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 2000, a linkage unit 2002, an image unit 2004, anelectromagnetic field generator unit 2006, a sensing unit 2008, asettings unit 2010, a display unit 2012, a signal unit 2014, atransceiver unit 2016, and a storage unit 2018.

In the following, descriptions of components that perform the samefunctions as those described with respect to the earlier drawing figuresare omitted.

The image unit 2004 may generate a first image 110, which will be sharedwith the receiving terminal 102, or generate a combined image of thefirst image 110 and the second image 112.

The electromagnetic field generator unit 2006 may serve to create anelectromagnetic field for sensing the touch means by electromagneticinduction, and may preferably be arranged on a rear surface of thedisplay unit 2012.

The sensing unit 2008 may sense changes in the electromagnetic fieldcaused by the coil of the touch means to thereby sense the position ofthe touch means.

The signal unit 2014 may create an image signal that includes image datacorresponding to the first image 110, a control signal that includesinformation on the position of the touch means, or a combination signalthat includes combined image data. Also, the signal unit 2014 cantransmit the image signal or the combination signal to the receivingterminal 102 through a data channel and transmit the control signal tothe receiving terminal 102 through a control channel.

FIG. 21 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment. FIG. 21 illustrates the structure of a userterminal 100 when the receiving terminal 102 is configured to transmitimage data to the user terminal 100.

Referring to FIG. 21, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 2100, a linkage unit 2102, a transceiver unit2104, an image signal unit 2106, an image unit 2108, a sensing unit2110, a signal unit 2112, a display unit 2114, a settings unit 2116, anda storage unit 2118.

In the following, descriptions of components that perform the samefunctions as described with respect to the earlier drawing figures areomitted.

The image signal unit 2106 may receive an image signal transmitted byway of the transceiver unit 2404 from the receiving terminal 102 and mayanalyze the received image signal.

The image unit 2108 may generate a first image 110 that corresponds tothe image signal analyzed by the image signal unit 2106, or generate acombined image of the first image 110 and the second image 112.

The sensing unit 2110 may sense the position of the touch means.

The signal unit 2112 may create a control signal that includesinformation on the position of the touch means or a combination signalthat includes combined image data. Also, the signal unit 2112 cantransmit the image signal or the combination signal to the receivingterminal 102 through a data channel and transmit the control signal tothe receiving terminal 102 through a control channel.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of a user terminalaccording to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 22, the user terminal 100 of this embodiment caninclude a control unit 2200, a display unit 2202, a sensing unit 2204, asignal unit 2206, an image unit 2208, an information provider unit 2210,and a mode changer unit 2214. The user terminal 100 can include all orjust some of the components above. Also, the user terminal 100 canadditionally include components other than the components above.

The display unit 2202 may display a first image 110 that is shared bythe user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102. Also, the displayunit 2202 can display a menu, etc., from which to select a touch mode.

The sensing unit 2204 may sense the position of a touch means by way ofvarious methods such as those described above, when the touch means isnear or is touching the user terminal 100. Here, the positioninformation representing the position of the touch means can be theposition information of the touch means that is positioned within apreset distance from the user terminal 100.

The signal unit 2206 may transmit the position information of the touchmeans obtained by the sensing above to the receiving terminal 102 andmay transmit image data corresponding to the first image 110 shared bythe user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 to the receivingterminal 102.

The image unit 2208 may generate combined image data that is to beshared by the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 or thesecond image 112 that indicates the position of the touch means.

The information provider unit 2210 can output information according tothe sensing results of the sensing unit 2204. That is, nearnessinformation can be outputted when a touch means is brought near the userterminal 100 and sensed by the sensing unit 2204. The nearnessinformation can be in the form of vibration, sound, or light, so as tostimulate the user's tactile, auditory, or visual senses.

The information provider unit 2210 can provide the user with a tactile,auditory, or visual sensation in various types according to the state ofnearness of the touch means with respect to the user terminal 100, toallow the user of the user terminal 100 to perceive various tactile,auditory, or visual sensations.

For example, with the user terminal 100 having recognized a near touchof the touch means, the information provider unit 2210 can provide acontinuous vibration, sound, or light during a movement of the touchmeans. That is, a short vibration can be provided once when a near touchof the touch means is first recognized, after which continuousvibrations can be provided when the touch means moves. In other words,when a near touch of the touch means is first recognized, a vibrationcan be provided for a first duration, and afterwards when the touchmeans moves, a vibration can be provided for a second duration. Here,the second duration can be longer than the first duration.

Alternatively, the information provider unit 2210 can provide avibration when a near touch is first recognized, and afterwards providea sound when the touch means is moving.

In another example, the information provider unit 2210 can provide theuser with nearness information in the form of sound, etc., when thetouch means is brought near a preset object such as a folder, controluser interface (UI), etc., from among the images shown on the screen ofthe user terminal 100. That is, as described above with reference toFIGS. 6A and 6B, the position image of the touch means can change whenthe touch means is placed at a preset position, and at this time, theinformation provider unit 2210 can output nearness information, wherethe nearness information can correspond to event occurrence information.In this way, the user can perceive the object immediately.

The information provider unit 2210 can provide the nearness informationfor a first duration when the sensing unit 2204 recognizes a nearnessstate of the touch means, and can provide the nearness information for asecond duration when the touch means moves while the sensing unit 2204is aware of the nearness state of the touch means. The second durationcan be a duration corresponding to the duration for which the touchmeans moves while the sensing unit 2204 is aware of the nearness stateof the touch means.

Also, the information provider unit 2210 can provide the nearnessinformation in different forms for a first case, in which the sensingunit 2204 recognizes a nearness state of a touch means, and a secondcase, in which the touch means is moved while the sensing unit 2204 isaware of the nearness state of the touch means. As described above, avibration can be provided for the first case and a sound can be providedfor the second case, or vibrations of a first pattern can be providedfor the first case and vibrations of a second pattern can be providedfor the second case, so as to allow the user to perceive the movement ofthe touch means.

If the touch means touches the display unit 2202 after the sensing unit2204 has recognized a nearness state, the information provider unit 2210may not provide the nearness information, allowing the user of the userterminal to differentiate between a near state and a direct touch.

After the touch means has touched the display unit 2202, when thesensing unit 2204 recognizes a nearness state of the touch means for asecond time, the information provider unit 2210 can provide the nearnessinformation. Once the touch means is brought near the user terminal 100and touches the user terminal 100, the touch means may be separated fromthe user terminal 100. That is, since the purpose of the touch has beenfulfilled, the touch means may be separated from the user terminal 100to proceed with the next operation, at which time a nearness state mayoccur again. In this case, since the touch means is put in a nearnessstate for the first time after touching the display unit 2202 and wasnot intentionally placed in a nearness state by the user, theinformation provider unit 2210 may be configured to not provide nearnessinformation. Then, when a nearness state occurs for the second time,i.e. the user intentionally triggers a nearness state, the informationprovider unit 2210 can provide nearness information.

The mode changer unit 2214 may change the touch mode according to theuser's input, where the touch mode can include a near touch mode 2220and a direct touch mode 2222. Here, the user input can be made by way ofa switch. The switch can be configured as a ring/vibration conversionswitch.

In the near touch mode 2220, the position image of a nearby touch meanscan be displayed on the user terminal 100 or the receiving terminal.Also, the position image of a touch means touching the user terminal 100with a pressure level or area smaller than or equal to a preset valuecan be displayed on the user terminal 100 or the receiving terminal.Also, as described above, the position image of a touch means can bedisplayed on the user terminal 100 or the receiving terminal 102according to the user's request regardless of touch mode.

In the near touch mode, the user terminal 100 may recognize the positionof a touch means that is near the user terminal 100 for a touch input ofthe touch means, and in the direct touch mode, the user terminal 100 mayrecognize a touch by the touch means as a touch input.

According to an embodiment, the mode changer unit 2214 can change thetouch mode at the beginning of linked operation between the userterminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102 or change the touch modeaccording to the user's command, e.g. the user's touch, voice data, orvisual data. For example, the user can change the touch mode byselecting on a menu shown on the user terminal 100, or the touch modecan be changed by the user's voice or a visual sequence such as motion.

The touch mode change function described above can be provided when thelinked operation of the user terminal 100 and the receiving terminal 102begins, or can be provided in the user terminal 100 regardless of linkedoperation. Also, the touch mode change function for linked operation canbe provided automatically when the linked operation begins or can beprovided after linking when the user selects the function. With a smallscreen as on a smart phone, it can be useful to sense a touch means thatis nearby and show a corresponding image on the smart phone, and in sucha device, it may be advantageous to provide the touch mode changefunction regardless of linked operation.

According to an embodiment, the user terminal 100 can be provided with alink mode in addition to the near touch mode and direct touch mode. Forexample, if a user carrying a user terminal 100 such as a smart phone ora tablet PC, etc., wishes to link it to a receiving terminal 102, theuser can select the link mode. When the user selects the link mode, theuser terminal 100 can search for display apparatuses close by, beginlinking with a searched receiving terminal 102, and display a menu fromwhich to select a near touch mode and a direct touch mode on the userterminal 100 at the beginning of the linked operation.

While it is not described above, the selection of the touch mode changecan be achieved by methods other than selecting a menu displayed on theuser terminal 100, such as by pressing a button provided on a sidesurface, a front surface, etc., of a smart phone.

The control unit 2200 may control the overall operations of thecomponents of the user terminal 100.

Components in the embodiments described above can be easily understoodfrom the perspective of processes. That is, each component can also beunderstood as an individual process. Likewise, processes in theembodiments described above can be easily understood from theperspective of components.

Also, the technical features described above can be implemented in theform of program instructions that may be performed using variouscomputer means including processors and storage media and can berecorded in a computer-readable medium. Such a computer-readable mediumcan include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc.,alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the mediumcan be designed and configured specifically for the present invention orcan be a type of medium known to and used by the skilled person in thefield of computer software. Examples of a non-transitorycomputer-readable recording medium may include magnetic media such ashard disks, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, etc., optical media such asCD-ROM's, DVD's, etc., magneto-optical media such as floptical disks,etc., and hardware devices such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. Examplesof the program of instructions may include not only machine languagecodes produced by a compiler but also high-level language codes that canbe executed by a computer through the use of an interpreter, etc. Thehardware mentioned above can be made to operate as one or more softwaremodules that perform the actions of the embodiments of the invention,and vice versa.

The embodiments described above are disclosed only for illustrativepurposes. A person having ordinary skill in the art would be able tomake various modifications, alterations, and additions without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention, but it is to be appreciatedthat such modifications, alterations, and additions are encompassed bythe scope of claims set forth below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A user terminal used in a terminal linkagesystem, the user terminal comprising: an image unit configured to outputimage data to be shared with a receiving terminal larger than the userterminal; a signal unit configured to transmit an image signal and acontrol signal to the receiving terminal, the image signal having theimage data outputted from the image unit, and the control signalincluding position information of a touch means near the user terminal;a sensing unit configured to sense a position of the touch means whenthe touch means is near the user terminal or the touch means touches theuser terminal; and a setting unit configured to set a plurality ofsensing levels, wherein the sensing levels include a first sensing levelfor sensing the touch means when the touch means is near the userterminal and a second sensing level for sensing the touch means when thetouch means touches the user terminal, the second sensing level ishigher than the first sensing level, and the setting unit activates bothof the first sensing level and the second sensing level when the userterminal and the receiving terminal are in linked operation andactivities only the second sensing level when the user terminal and thereceiving terminal are not in linked operation, wherein an imagerepresenting the position information of the touch means is displayed onthe receiving terminal when the sensing unit senses the position of thetouch means.
 2. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein the user terminalfurther comprises: a display unit configured to display a first imagecorresponding to the image data outputted from the image unit wherein animage identical to the first image displayed on the user terminal isdisplayed on the receiving terminal according to the transmitted imagesignal, and a second image representing the position of the touch meansis displayed together with the first image on the receiving terminalaccording to the transmitted position information.
 3. The user terminalof claim 2, wherein the display unit is a capacitive touch panel, andthe user terminal further comprises a setting unit configured to set aplurality of sensing levels, wherein the sensing levels include a firstsensing level for sensing the touch means when the touch means is nearthe user terminal and a second sensing level for sensing the touch meanswhen the touch means touches the user terminal, the second sensing levelis higher than the first sensing level, and the setting unit activatesboth of the first sensing level and the second sensing level when theuser terminal and the receiving terminal are in linked operation andactivates only the second sensing level when the user terminal and thereceiving terminal are not in linked operation.
 4. The user terminal ofclaim 2, further comprising: a touch means unit, wherein the userterminal is installed with a receiver, wherein the receiver sensesultrasonic waves and infrared rays emitted from the touch means todetect the position of the touch means, and the signal unit controls thereceiver to transmit the detected position information of the touchmeans to the receiving terminal.
 5. The user terminal of claim 2,further comprising: an electromagnetic field generator unit attached toa rear surface of the display unit and configured to generate anelectromagnetic field, wherein the touch means has a metal coil woundaround a distal end thereof, electromagnetic induction occurs in themetal coil due to the generated electromagnetic field, theelectromagnetic field is altered due to the electromagnetic induction,and the sensing unit detects the position of the touch means by sensingthe altered electromagnetic field.
 6. The user terminal of claim 1,wherein the user terminal and the receiving terminal are connected via aplurality of channels, wherein the user terminal transmits the imagesignal to the receiving terminal through a data channel of the channelsand sends the control signal to the receiving terminal through a controlchannel of the channels.
 7. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein theuser terminal transmits the image signal and the control signal througha same channel, wherein the user terminal transmits the image signalduring data periods and sends the control signal during a blank periodbetween the data periods.
 8. The user terminal of claim 1, wherein thesignal unit transmits a control signal including the positioninformation of the touch means when the touch means is near the userterminal and a control signal having the position information of thetouch means when the touch means touches the user terminal separately tothe receiving terminal, wherein a second image shown on the receivingterminal according to the position information of the touch means whennear the user terminal is different in shape from a second image shownon the receiving terminal according to the position of the touch meanswhen touching the user terminal.
 9. A user terminal used in a terminallinkage system, the user terminal comprising: an image unit configuredto generate image data and position indicator data, the image datacorresponding to a first image to be shared with a receiving terminallarger than the user terminal, the position indicator data correspondingto a second image representing a position of a touch means when thetouch means is near the user terminal; a signal unit configured totransmit the image data and the position indicator data generated by theimage unit to the receiving terminal; a sensing unit configured to sensea position of the touch means when the touch means is near the userterminal or the touch means touches the user terminal; and a settingunit configured to set a plurality of sensing levels, wherein thesensing levels include a first sensing level for sensing the touch meanswhen the touch means is near the user terminal and a second sensinglevel for sensing the touch means when the touch means touches the userterminal, the second sensing level is higher than the first sensinglevel, and the setting unit activates both of the first sensing leveland the second sensing level when the user terminal and the receivingterminal are in linked operation and activates only the second sensinglevel when the user terminal and the receiving terminal are not inlinked operation, wherein an image representing position information ofthe touch means is displayed on the receiving terminal when the sensingunit senses the position of the touch means.
 10. The user terminal ofclaim 9, wherein the signal unit transmits an image signal including theimage data to the receiving terminal through a data channel and sends acontrol signal having the position indicator data to the receivingterminal through a control channel.
 11. A user terminal used in aterminal linkage system, the user terminal comprising: an image unitconfigured to output combined image data, the combined image datacorresponding to a combined image of a first image to be shared with areceiving terminal larger than the user terminal and a second imageindicating a position of a touch means when the touch means is near theuser terminal; a signal unit configured to transmit a combination signalto the receiving terminal, the combination signal having the combinedimage data outputted from the image unit; a sensing unit configured tosense a position of the touch means when the touch means is near theuser terminal or the touch means touches the user terminal; and asetting unit configured to set a plurality of sensing levels, whereinthe sensing levels include a first sensing level for sensing the touchmeans when the touch means is near the user terminal and a secondsensing level for sensing the touch means when the touch means touchesthe user terminal, the second sensing level is higher than the firstsensing level, and the setting unit activates both of the first sensinglevel and the second sensing level when the user terminal and thereceiving terminal are in linked operation and activates only the secondsensing level when the user terminal and the receiving terminal are notin linked operation, wherein the second image is displayed on thereceiving terminal when the sensing unit senses the position of thetouch means.
 12. The user terminal of claim 11, wherein the image unitcomprises: a first image generating unit configured to generate thefirst image; a second image generating unit configured to generate thesecond image; and an image combining unit configured to combine thefirst image and the second image to generate the combined image, whereinthe second image is shown together with the first image.
 13. A userterminal configured for linked operation with a receiving terminal andhaving a smaller size than the receiving terminal, the user terminalcomprising: a display unit; a signal unit configured to transmit to thereceiving terminal image information and position information of a touchmeans near the user terminal; a sensing unit configured to sense aposition of the touch means when the touch means is near the userterminal or the touch means touches the user terminal; and a settingunit configured to set a plurality of sensing levels, wherein thesensing levels include a first sensing level for sensing the touch meanswhen the touch means is near the user terminal and a second sensinglevel for sensing the touch means when the touch means touches the userterminal, the second sensing level is higher than the first sensinglevel, and the setting unit activates both of the first sensing leveland the second sensing level when the user terminal and the receivingterminal are in linked operation and activates only the second sensinglevel when the user terminal and the receiving terminal are not inlinked operation, wherein an image representing the position informationof the touch means is displayed on the receiving terminal when thesensing unit senses the position of the touch means.
 14. The userterminal of claim 13, further comprising: a position informationgenerating unit configured to generate the position information by usinga sensing result of the sensing unit.
 15. The user terminal of claim 13,wherein the position information is of a touch means positioned within apreset distance from the user terminal.
 16. A method for controlling auser terminal, the method comprising: generating an image to be sharedwith a receiving terminal larger than the user terminal; sensing aposition of a touch means when the touch means is near the user terminalor the touch means touches the user terminal; generating an imagerepresenting a position information of the touch means when the touchmeans is near the user terminal or the touch means touches the userterminal; and transmitting the image representing the positioninformation of the touch means to the receiving terminal on which theimage representing the position information of the touch means isdisplayed, wherein the user terminal comprises a setting unit configuredto set a plurality of sensing levels, wherein the sensing levels includea first sensing level for sensing the touch means when the touch meansis near the user terminal and a second sensing level for sensing thetouch means when the touch means touches the user terminal, the secondsensing level is higher than the first sensing level, and the settingunit activates both of the first sensing level and the second sensinglevel when the user terminal and the receiving terminal are in linkedoperation and activates only the second sensing level when the userterminal and the receiving terminal are not in linked operation.